Creation of a rich storyworld is an essential part of developing a transmedia property. These questions (and others over the few posts) can guide a creator in putting together such a storyworld.

  • Is the story fiction, non-fiction, or a hybrid (i.e. an integration of fictional and non-fictional elements)? (Storyworld Level Design Tasks)
  • What is the controlling idea (theme) of the storyworld? (Storyworld Level Design Tasks)
  • What is the genre of the storyworld? (Storyworld Level Design Tasks)
    • Action-Adventure
    • Crime
    • Detective
    • Fantasy
    • Mystery
    • Horror
    • Etc.
  • Is the storyworld suitable for use across a variety of media? (Storyworld Level Design Tasks)
  • What are the relations between the storyworlds of the system? When do we have a single storyworld vs. multiple, overlapping storyworlds? (Storyworld Level Design Tasks)
  • Is the storyworld big enough to accommodate a wide variety of story possibilities? (Storyworld Level Design Tasks)
  • Can the storyworld be readily expanded with one or more of the following strategies (Storyworld Level Design Tasks):
  • Interstitial micro stories – stories that have a close relationship to the macros story. These can be presented using comics, online video and audio clips, video games, mobisodes, and similar approaches.
  • Parallel stories – stories that unfold at the same time and have a strong relationship to the macro story. These parallel stories may evolve over time and become spinoffs.
  • Peripheral stories – stories that have a weak relationship to and may not occur at the same time as the macro story. Peripheral stories may also evolve overtime and spinoff.
  • User-generated content platforms – environments such as blogs and wikis that facilitate user-generated stories and other user-generated content related to the storyworld.
  • Does the storyworld allow for the creation of additional character background and the introduction of entirely new characters? (Storyworld Level Design Tasks)
  • Does the storyworld allow new plot development? (Storyworld Level Design Tasks)